AikidoEssence(JoséCarlosEscobar–Shidoin,06/2016)

ForyearsAikidohasbeenpracticedinalargenumberofcountriesaroundtheworldandyet,afterO´Sensei´sdeath–Aikido´sfounder–ithasbeenfurtheredandpracticedinsufficiently,attheexpenseofthefullachievementofitsobjectives.

• Ononehand,toomuchemphasishasbeenputontheactivitiesusedinpracticethat have been mistakenly called ¨techniques¨ since AIKIDO HAS NO SUCHTHING AS ¨TECHNIQUES¨: its practice is made of movements by means ofwhichitisnecessarytodevelopaworkthatwillhelpthemutualdevelopmentofpractitionersinregardstotheirHumanpotential.Thisisbetterunderstoodwhenwetakeagoodlookatthetermsallpractitionersuseandknow.

ACTIVITY/WORK(¨-KYO¨AND¨NAGE¨) TECHNIQUES(WAZA)Ikkyo,Nikyo,Sankyo,Yonkyo,etc.Kokyuho,Kokyunage,Iriminage,Shi-honage,Kotegaeshi,etc

SwariwazaTachiwazaKaeshiwaza

Thisisbetterunderstoodthroughthefollowingcomparison:

MARTIALARTS AIKIDO

SHIN(heart) KI(lifeenergy)

GI(technique) SHIN(heart)

TAI(body) TAI(body)

These ideograms indicate the pivots on which the teaching and practice ofMartialArtsandAikidoturn.Thefirstone,theshin-gi-taipivot(leftcolumn)isused byMartial (fighting) arts practitioners and sportspeople. It emphasizestheshin(mindsetandmotivation)necessarytocultivatetheartandtoachievea victory over an adversary. It concentrates on the technical aspects (gi) thefightersor competitorswillneed ina tournamentor combatwhere theywillhavetoputthephysicalresistanceoftheirbodies(tai)tothetest.

However,theki-shin-taipivotofAikido(rightcolumn)putsparticularattentionandprioritytoaforcereferredtoaski(“anenergyconnectedtotheUniverse”),a formof energydiscoveredbyAikido founderMoriheiUeshiba,which lackstechnique(waza/gi)since,beingpartoftheCosmos,itisalientoanyformofhuman instrumental elaboration. Hence instead of courage, strength,resistance, and violence to deal with conflict, Aikido practitioners reconnectwith themselves and join the Universe throughout the adequate (dynamic)workoftheirbodies(tai)andbyapplyingAikidomovementsaimedatthecare,wellbeing,anddevelopmentofallpracticepartnerswhoplaytheroleofbeing¨opponents¨ but arenothingmore than the forces tobeovercome to achieveself-development.Such¨opponents¨alsopursuetheirownparallelgrowthanddevelopmentgiventhereisnosuchthingas¨attack-defense¨inAikidoandtheyalsomustcarryoutanactivity/workintendedformutualdevelopment.

The concept GI (technique, way to defeat someone through lethal punches,kicks,etc.,)isfundamentalinallpreviousartssincetheirmainobjectivewastodefeattheenemy.Instead,theKiconceptofAikido(aswellasthedevelopmentof ki no chikara, which is its augmented strength) is essential because itsobjective is themutualdevelopmentofallpractitionersandthecollaborationandabsoluterespecttothequalitiesthatmakeusbetterhumanbeings.

• Uke´s work and his/her development have been absolutely forgotten andignored.Without itpractice is incomplete forbothNAGEandUKEand leavesNAGEwith a selfish role, contrary to the essence of Aikido. NAGE´s role hasbeen over-emphasized and has let him/her as the prominent figure in thisgame,leavingUKEaside.THEREARENOSPOTLIGHTSinAikido.Thisfacthasresultedinaunilateral,egotisticalandevenviolentpractice.Thiswas the case when people saw themselves as enemies but it is totallyinappropriate inAikido.This issue is exceedingly important sinceAikidohasbeen given the impression that there is always awinner and a loser duringpractice,someonewhoisalways¨incontrol¨ofanotheronewhoisoppressedandabused,whichisopposesO´SenseiUeshiba´sthinking.

• As it has been pointed out (Escobar: 2000) the work in Aikido has to aim:

(a)tounderstandexactlywhatthatenergycalledKIbythefounderis,sinceitistheessenceoftheAikido,and(b)howisitthatitbeaugmentedsothatitcanbestrengthened(somethingknownasKINOCHIKARA).This energymust be perceived, recognized, applied andmultiplied by BOTHpractitioners(NAGEandUKE)becausefailingtodosomakesthemloosetheirchancetodeveloptheirKINOCHIKARA.But this is possible only when people practice TANDEN, and develop theiressentialsensitivity(KOKORO)whichtakesthemtothedynamiccoordinationandunionofheartandbody(SHINSHINTOITSU)asaninextricableunitythatis not appropriately represented in usual illustrations / modelling ofinstructors.

Artists cannotmake accurate representations of Aikido´smovements if theirinstructors do not teachwell. This happens because they overlook or ignorepractice inthewayshownandoriginallytaughtbythefounderofAikidoandthat implies instructors never reach the practice level called TOKUBETSUGEIKOnottomentionKINONAGAREpractice.TheyusuallycoverKihon,Shu-den,andGi-howaysofpracticecontainedintheregularprogramfollowedbymostorganizations.

• Threeoutoffourkindsofinstructionandpracticehavebeenseeminglyleftout(TANDENGEIKO,TOKUBETSUGEIKOandKINONAGARE)andAikidohasbeenleftjustwiththegeneralkindofpractice(calledIPPANGEIKO)whichconsistsof theseriesofmovementsthathavebeenpromotedastheofficial training/teachingprograminbooksandmagazinesthroughouttheyearsintheAikidoworld:

IPPANGEIKO(generalpractice,elementarylevel)

Due to all this the philosophy inherited by the founder has been forgotten:AGATSU,MASAKATSU,KATSUHAYABI.ThesetermsarewellknowntoAikidopractitioners all around the world but they lack the corresponding theorydeveloped by Kurita Shihan so they do not apply them to practice thushinderingtheaimedgrowthanddevelopment:ahigherHUMANdevelopmentandthesuccessofourspecies.

• The practice of Aikido has not received enough attention and focus as aformula for HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, a constructive development aimed tohelpHUMANITYto takeastep forward in itcivilizingprocessso thatwecanlearn to live with others in a different way so as to help us to soften theHOSTILE RELATIONSHIPS that have whipped and destroyed the Humanspeciesthroughouthistory.

Aikido IS NOT A MARTIAL (FIGHTING) ART, a SPORT or an entertainmentactivity. Aikido is BUDO, a development system whose ultimate goal is toachieve one HUMAN GRANDEUR thatmay lead practitioners to SUCCEED inlife.

Aikido seeks for the improvement of human beings, the development oftheirultimatepotential,aresponsibleandconsciousbehaviorandawayof life likely to occur in the 21st century thatmay leadHumanity a stepforward in its civilizing process. So to taking Aikido merely as anotherMartialArtisaSETBACK.Itmustnotbeconfusedormixedwithanysport,fightingartand self-defense system. (KURITA YUTAKA Shihan, after 30yearsdisseminatingAikidoinMexico).

THEESSENCEOFAIKIDOKuritaY,Shihan´sTeachings

SUCCESSANDHUMANGRANDEUR